geoff, you're spot on there, up rindle road and the feeding area is along the obvious track along the edge of the very last field on the right bordering the railway, on the chat moss field map found on the county site guides page on the website its field no 69

ian ,i,m a bit like you the info,s on the site or forum somewhere but i cant find it.Quite a lot of seed is being put on the track off rindle road so i,ve assumed this is it,approaching from the A580get to the level crossing and turn round, after the first field on your left there is a parking spot and a metal barrier/gate tied up with blue rope look down the track and the seed is being left out there,i,m sure your meant to watch from the gate to avoid spooking the diners

I suspect that the location of the feeding station on Rindle Rd has been explained but I can't find it. So could some kind soul out there please give me instructions. Thanks in anticipation, as this site never fails(unlike Citys strike force!!).Cheers Ian

Birds seen while parked up at the feeding area beside Rindle road this morning,

110+ Pink footed Geese over flying west at 9.30 am1 male Merlin flying at speed over f69 , it flushed the birds from the seed and carried on into Rindle woods.2 Grey Partridge, 6 Pheasant, 5 Redwing and 4 Mistle thrushes in f67.

In all 32 different species of bird seen from the same spot at the end of the track.It was also good to meet up with Alan Rowley who was doing his timed tetrad count and Eddie King who was putting some seed down.Nice to meet you both.

8.30 -11.30amThe male Sparrowhawk was again swooping down the track this morning and came very close to catching a Robin which left it very late to fly into the hedge.As well as all the usual birds that turned up for the seed a GS Woodpecker also flew on to the track and had a quick forage with the 4 Blackbirds that were feeding there.

Astley Moss11 Corn buntings in the trees beside the potato field2 Snipe at the scrapes5 MPipits2 Willow tits1 Stonechat on the dung heaps in the horse paddock30+ Redwing all over

A male Sparrowhawk was sat in the hedge beside the track where the seed is put down but did not stay around for a photo and did not hunt while I was there.20+ Tree sparrows10+ Yellowhammers3 Reed buntings6 Chaffinches2 Great and 1 Willow tit all came down to the seed.Also in the horse paddock next to the track was a large [30+] mixed flock of thrushes Mistle,Blackbird,Redwing and 3 Fieldfare.

11.50 - 1315 todayGood views of a hunting male Sparrowhawk can be seen as it flies up and down the track where the seed is being put down for the birds at the top end of Rindle road.

It made 3 attempts today as I watched from my car parked beside Rindle road looking down the track. It watches from the large tree at the beginning of Rindle wood, then swoops down and glides over the grass in the middle of the track , flying 6" from the ground trying to flush a bird from the seed, it then flies through the triangle in the metal gate and down along the drainage ditch until it reaches the farm, it then uses the cover of the trees and Rindle wood to arrive back at its starting point.

It takes about 10-15 minutes for the Yellowhammers, Tree sparrows and Chaffinches to settle down feeding again before the Sparrowhawk trys again.On its third attempt it caught a female Chaffinch which was just a little too slow in getting back into the hedge.

Quick look around the Rindle Road feeding station area, counted 11 Yellowhammers on seed and 20 Tree Sparrows, plus Redwing and Willow Tit in adjacent bushes getting into the communal spirit with the other birds there.

Stonechat- a pair at the bottom of Rindle Road (where the level crossing is classed as the top), close to the horse paddock there.Chaffinch- 130, in a large flock along Nook Lane then made their way to the back of the horse paddock at the bottom of Rindle (where the Stonchats were)

Astley MossLarge flock [30+] Yellowhammers and Tree Sparrows at the feeding area near Rindle road.Plenty of Blue, Coal, Great and Willow tits along the hedges near the now ploughed potato field.GS Woodpecker in the trees as you enter Astley SSSI.5 Teal and 2 Mallard in the small water filled channels cut into the peat in the middle of the moss.4 Mpipits

Bedford MossBuzzard on its favourite perch,8 LT tits7 Whooper Swans flying low over the moss in a NE direction at 10.17 am,

I also saw the Grey geese flying over the moss while talking with Pete Berry . I took them to be Pinks but Pete had doubts . So its worth keeping an eye out for them.

About 11am this morning 12 Grey geese flew low from Chat Moss over Astley Moss and tried to land near Moss Lane but were put up by shooting.They circled round and appeared to land near Botany Bay Woods on private land.They could just be Pinks,but as we don't usually get Pinks landing in the county they just might be something more interesting.I'm sure they're still around the area,so worth keeping your eyes open if your birding on the Moss.

Merlin- fem/imm over field 63, heading low (and very quickly) southSkylark- 12, field 63 (disturbed by the Merlin)Stonechat- a pair long the western edge of field 63Stock Dove- 73, field 52Buzzard- only a couple knocking about

1000`s of young Pheasants in the fields and along Rindle road.Buzzard in f69 hopping around probably trying to catch a vole and 1 Kestrel hunting over the same field.A flock of at least 40 Tree sparrows in the hedges leading to Rindle wood.5 Jays, 1 Treecreeper and 4 Goldfinch in Rindle woods.2 Buzzards soaring over the potato field.2 Willow, 8 LT tits and 1 GS Woodpecker in the trees beside the field.3 juvenile Buzzards around Bedford moss and 1 Swallow overOn the walk back I saw 2 Redwing together with Blackbirds and Mistle thrushes taking berries from the hedges

Too much shooting was going on around the mosses today disturbing the birds as 100`s of woodpigeons were always overhead.

Astley moss100+ Pheasant in the fields along side the length of Rindle road and a couple actually running in front of my car.50+ Woodpigeons in f67 and f69.At least 180 Starlings sat together on the phone wires between the farm and f68.Chiffchaff singing near the signal boxLarge flock of LT,Great,Blue and Coal tits working the hedges up to Rindle wood4 Tree sparrows ,1 Treecreeper and 1 GS woodpecker in Rindle woods

Bedford moss2 juvenile Buzzards sat at their favourite perches watching the moss2 Kestrels both hunting and having successful kills while I watched.Due to lots of shooting going on further down the moss large flocks of Woodpigeons were overhead , up to 150 birds at a time.Plenty of Swallows and Martins heading south.

3 Grey Partridge in f6724 Lapwings flocking together and flying between f69 and f67 due to being disturbed by a small biplane out from Barton.7 Tree Sparrows in the hedges before Rindle wood1 Barn owl hunting over the small pools on Astley SSSI.Tawny owl sat in a Birch tree on Bedford moss while another was calling from the railway side of the moss.

Plenty of insects, moths and bats flying around the moss tonight and 5 Hares seen in the potato fields.

Also as I walked back to my car a very large owl flew over me just before I came out on Rindle road, it was too dark to see it properly.Possible SE Owl but not sure.

In the fields between Rindle woods and Astley SSSI there was 4 Kestrels and 2 Buzzards hunting together, the kestrels hovered or perched in the trees before dropping into the fields .As I walked around the edge of the field I must have seen 30+ small black voles in the grass which has been cut very short. Some of the voles were actually fighting or chasing each other around my boots as I stood there.At one point there was 6 Kestrels over the field at the same time.

Hundreds of Swallows in the fields and on the wires along side Moss lane, it looks like they are getting ready for the trip down South.Not one Swift seen all evening.

2 Kestrels hunting along Nook lane.1 Little owl at the edge of Rindle woods2 Buzzards stood in the field of grass beside the woods along with 2 HaresAstley SSSI was very quiet and too overgrown to walk about much , just 1 Canada goose flying over.The two Buzzards from the field spent 20 minutes hunting over Bedford moss then joined up in the same tree and started preening.3 Jays 10+ Tree sparrows in the hedges on the way back to Rindle road.1 Budgie sat on the telephone wires near the canal bridge , I suppose thats a girlie tick!!!!

Glad to see that you're getting involved in the Atlas Tony. Ian has put all the details on the noticeboard page (I know some folks only look at the Forum bit of the website - you don't know what you're missing).

I've had quite a few expressions of interest so far (thanks all) but if anyone else is interested in helping with this mammoth, but extremely valuable project, send me an e-mail or register on the BTO website - see above-mentioned article on the Noticeboard page.

Bedford mossWatched 2 Buzzards for about 45 minutes perching and soaring around the clearing at the end of the woodchip path.Both were juveniles as they had streaked breasts which were lighter in colour than an adult bird.Very vocal, constantly mewing to each other as they were mobbed by a pair of Jays.Good views of one of my favourite birds of prey.Also 2 Herons catching frogs from the sides of the ponds.1 Grey Wagtail.

Chat mossKestrels hunting in both f58 and f59,3 Yellow wagtails over f62.4 Yellow wagtails in f52

Have been looking at the forum for a few months now and finally plucked up the courage to submit an entry this morning re Black Redstarts. Reading you item on Chat Moss etc I notice you refer to the fields by number. Question where can I find a map with those numbers reffed?

Yellow Wagtail- 1 female on 12 yards road (actually on the road!), 5 juveniles (with atleast 3 other unaged birds calling in the field to the south) in the horse paddocks in field 23 showing very well and actually allowing me to photograph them this time, check out the galleries when I've uploaded them)

Whinchat- 1 immature in the horse paddocks in field 23 (also got some nice shots of that too )

2 Little Owls (ad & juv) at the side of Olive Mt. Fm. and F63. The juv was on the ground just staring at me, then flew up into a tree where I spotted an adult,who must have been watching over it while it explored. (Site tick .............Ian, I can feel another Site List coming on ! ! ! )Corn Bunting on wires F19Besides the usual Tree Sparrows on Rindle Rd., there was a group of 13 here as well ; New Farm. F192 Willow Tit - Red Challis23 Mistle Thrushes in the paddock next to Cherry Tree cottage F616 Grey Partridge F59Red-legged Partridge - F634 Kestrelsusual Yellowhammers, Linnets etc

Chat moss today 14.30 -16.45I had a couple of hours wandering around fields 58,59,60 and 61 on Chat moss looking for the Hobby.Alas I did not see it but I did flush a total of 22 Grey partridge from all 4 fields.Some of them were proper heart attack jobs as they waited until I had nearly stood on them before they flew up.

Field 58, 1 Buzzard over ,2 Whitethroats, 1 Sedge warbler and 1 GS Woodpecker,Field 59 1 Kestrel ,4 Skylarks, 2 Oystercatchers and 1 Snipe in the water logged corner near the rail crossing.Fields 60 & 61 both had large numbers of Mpipits,Chaffinches,Goldfinches and Yellowhammers flocking together.

Numbers of Swallows and Swifts seem to have dropped , I wouldn`t be surprised if they went back to Africa early after all this rain.

A word of warning if you go on foot like I did today, Most of the farms have their dogs chained up or fenced in, Moss side farm just passed the rail crossing has 2 Alsation mixed breeds one is chained up but one is loose and it will run out on to the road to meet you, not a pleasant dog.

take new moss road off the road inbetween lower irlam and cadishead, park at the small car park on the left after 500 yards & walk ahead for 300 yards along the woodland trust trail, on os map it's called new moss wood, also 1 grey partridge, c15 common whitethroat, 3 blackcap, song thrush, yellowhammer, jay, 2 willow warbler, 2 chiffchaff

Geoff After looking at Ian`s excellent photo`s of the Whimbrels at the peat pools which he took a couple of weeks ago and which flew off just before I got there, I was lucky enough to see one this morning.The Spotted flycatchers were a bit of a surprise and a good sighting as on the whole the moss was very quiet today.I could not find the Stonechats off Rindle road or any Wheatears at all.

Chat moss1 Whitethroat perched near Birch farm2 Buzzards over f632 Spotted Flycatchers perched on the fence at Hope Cottage farm opposite entrance to Larkhill farm. I watched one bird for 10 minutes then it was joined by the other , they flew off towards Larkhill farm.Plenty of Lapwings in the fields and also a lot of young Pied wagtails about.Rest of the moss was very quiet.

Also of note were 2 Oystercatchers sat on the building next to the BOC carpark again beside the A580 in Swinton as I travelled to the moss this morning.

-- Edited by Ian McKerchar at 10:40, 2007-07-30

-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Friday 10th of February 2012 07:53:18 PM